Finally Friday

And finally another finished object. I have an aunt who lives in Ketchikan, Alaska and she recently requested a pair of handknit socks. Since she is outdoors a lot, we agreed that a heavier weight "boot sock" would be suitable. Luckily for me, I had a skein of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted (colorway: Tuscany) waiting patiently in my stash - so out it came and these socks were born.

The pattern is the Chevron Stitch from Sensational Knitted Socks, worked with a short-row heel and a stockinette foot. I worked it over 52 sts on a US sz 4 needle, magic loop. Great stitch pattern, but you do have to be careful with the sizing as it doesn't have a lot of give.

Take That, Anne *cackles madly*

Dear Anne,

This is for you. For all the times you have made me lust after your yarn. Look!! Look at all that greyish, bluish, purpley deliciousness! Miiiiine.....allllllll miiiiiine....muwahahahaha.

Heck, for all I know, you already have this yarn. Here's hoping I made you do a double-take, at least.

Yours in yarny goodness-
Julie

P.S. This colorway is called Moonlight, but it looks like it's not available at The Loopy Ewe at the moment.

I'm At It Again

I finished the Pinwheel Blanket...
I'm close to finishing plain stockinette socks...
And I acquired new yarn. (the other skein is getting its own post.)

New is Good

I finished the Pinwheel Blanket, but haven't washed or blocked it yet, so you'll have to wait for those pictures. I'm also nearly ready for the toe of the first Soxie sock, but again, no progress picture. However, I've started a new sock! This is the yarn I received in the Dye-O-Rama swap several months ago. It was dyed with KoolAid and I really love the colors and how it is knitting up.


P.S. We put our house on the market this week!! Squee!!!

Sockapalooza!

I got my Sockapalooza package this week! Thank you, Emily! The sock yarn is alpaca/silk and sooo soft and slinky and the socks fit perfectly. The other little goodies are fun, too!

This has been a crazy week. My parents came to visit last weekend and ended up taking my kids home with them for the week so we can do the final push to get the house ready to put on the market. It has been incredibly helpful to be kid-free this week and we've gotten so much done. A few things left to go, though! The realtor comes Monday to do the appraisal and then we'll be ready to list the house.

As a result of all the house stuff, I've had precious little time to knit. However, I did start a plain stockinette sock and turned the heel last night. This yarn is so hard to photograph - this picture shows the colors well, but overall the actual sock is several shades darker than this.

WIP's

When I finished the Orchid Scarf, I must confess that I was at a loss for what to knit next. It's not as though I didn't already having some WIP's in my bag, but they weren't all that appealing. Instead, I started these:
The Charade socks, in Lorna's Laces "Black Watch." I really like the pattern, but knitting two socks at once goes sooo slowly for me.

Then I got inspired to knit a little blanket for our friends (who will receive the little baby cardi and hat I did recently) and suddenly, I'm close to finishing this:
The Pinwheel Blanket, knit in leftover Plymouth Encore from my stash (except for the red, which I had to purchase).

While I was at the yarn shop getting the red Encore, I remembered that I told one of Greg's aunts I would knit her a pair of socks. Her favorite colors are red, black and white and lo and behold...I found a new yarn in just that colorway! It's not really my thing, but I think she'll like it:
The RPM socks, knit in Crystal Palace's new Maizy sock yarn in the "News!" colorway.

Like I said, I do have a few other things on the needles, but we'll talk about them later. ;)

Orchid

Pattern: Orchid Scarf by Anne Hanson
Yarn: Handmaiden SeaSilk in Straw
Needles: US sz 6

I had the chance to test knit this pattern for Anne and I'll say now what I said before...it's a great pattern! I think it would be a very nice pattern for a new lace knitter, but is still pleasurable for an experienced lace knitter, too. The yarn was luscious and it blocks beautifully. This was my first time grafting lace - it wasn't hard, just slow.

Thank you, Anne, for another really lovely knit!

Percy

Finally! A post AND something I've finished! I've been in an odd knitting mood since vacation and had to force myself to finish these socks before I cast on for anything else. In fact, I even frogged two projects yesterday. Strange.

Percy Socks
Pattern: Retro Rib from Favorite Socks
Yarn: Two Waters Fiberworks "Gryffindor"
Needles: US sz 1.5
Modifications: I worked these toe-up with a short-row heel.

I'm Home!

Hooray!! I'm home!! I slept in my very own bed last night!!

My time away was very nice. I need to get pics off my camera and put together some links, so look for a more interesting post tomorrow-ish. For now, I'm KNITTING! Didn't do much of that during the past two weeks and I have a new project!

More tomorrow!

Over and Out

Hello all...just letting you know that I'll be out of pocket for the next two weeks! The kids and I leave tomorrow for a week in Michigan and then we're heading to Missouri to visit Greg's family. I may have some email access, so if you need me you can probably get me that way.

See you when we return!

Travel Sock and some art

I'll be leaving town for two weeks on Friday and have been agonizing over what knitting to take. Enter a new Jaywalker:
You may notice that I have already done a bit...but since I'm working toe-up and really, you just never know about the Jaywalker fit, I wanted to get it started before I leave. I really wanted this yarn to be a nice, normal variegated, but I kinda like what it's doing so I think it will be ok.

Natalie created this little masterpiece last night while we waited for our dinner. She has always loved to draw but lately has been getting much more detailed and creative. Here you can see a bird with feathers, two baby birds, a very arty birdhouse with a decorated pole, a bird deck with a ladder, a flower and tree...and Greg added the 10th hole/flag because obviously, this is an upscale bird community.

For Fun

Summertime

It's summer here in the mid-South and nothing says summer quite like felted wool! Right? I've had some KnitPicks Wool of the Andes in my stash for over a year - it was intended for a felted bag project, but as it turned out, I didn't love the pattern after all. So into the stash went the yarn until I was ready for it. For all the things I've knit, I've never felted anything and I figured it was high time. Enter Anne's Bubble Bag. (click on the Knitspot Pattern Catalog - there doesn't seem to be a direct link)
Fun knit...short rows...it's single-strand worsted...big needles...FUN! I changed up the striping a bit on mine and I'm pleased with how it came out. (Note: the mural is on the side of our house up on our deck...was here when we bought the house. Not our doing.)

And just because, here's my growing-up girl. She's got her first woggley (her word for wiggley) tooth. *sob*

Feeding the Addiction

I got new yarn this week, from The Loopy Ewe. Everyone always says such nice things about ordering from them that I figured I should probably see for myself. As it turns out, everyone was right! My order came super-fast and, just as everyone says, there was a handwritten note included.

I got some Gypsy Girl Creations in Brindle:
and some Misty Mountain Farm in Mountain Mist:
and some Fleece Artist Sea Wool:
There has been very little knitting lately, what with the house stuff. It's like I've developed a very short attention span with my knitting while I work on the house. I did start a new sock this weekend, but I frogged it last night because I wasn't thrilled with the stockinette part of the fabric on those particular needles.

I did, however, knit a little baby hat! The recipient of the baby sweater I just made is, in fact, a boy, so I thought I would make him a hat, since he will be born in November. I'm not sure how I never came across this pattern, but I'm so glad I found it - I think it's adorable!
Pattern: Jewel by SockPixie
Yarn: leftover Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock and Claudia Handpainted from socks I've knit
Needles: Addi Turbo sz 2

Work

That's what I've been doing a lot of. Working. Working on the house, working on decluttering, working on cleaning...all getting ready to move. Blurgh. I did manage to put about 4 rows of stockinette on a sock late last night, but that's all the knitting that's been done since early last week.

Today's project (at least for this morning): removing a ceiling full of glow-in-the-dark stars that were here when we bought the house - so they've been up there for at least 10 years, if not more.

I know you're jealous.

A Good Solution

Whaddya do when life gets you down?

Well, knit, of course, but in the event you need another option...pose with your favorite Klingon.

Speed and Softness

Project: "Plain Jane #172 QK" by Minnowknits (sz 6 month, but looks to be smaller than that)
Yarn: Plymouth "Oh My" in color 12
Needles: US sz 9
Buttons: don't know the brand

One of our business partners and his wife are expecting another baby in the fall, so I thought I'd whip out something quick and then just stash it away until later. This is a great little pattern and the yarn, while 100% nylon, feels just the way a baby sweater should!

Better Than

What could be better than a finished sock?
A finished sock with the start of its mate, of course. (Retro Rib pattern, worked toe-up)

And what could be better than a finished sock and the start of its mate?
New shoes, with which one could wear one's new socks, of course. Especially when said new shoes have tiny skulls and hearts on them. HEE!! (now is the point where my mother just shakes her head)

And of course, where would we be without yet another new sock?
This one's a gift, though. I intended to do the Eagle's Flight pattern, but decided to take the (ultra) easy way out and drastically shorten the cuff AND do a short-row heel AND do the foot in stockinette. The yarn is Panda Wool, in Baby Blues. Shorter than I would want for myself, but I have thick ankles. I know the recipient will like them anyway.

Two Random Things

First up, we have a picture of a sweater I purchased in Ireland many years ago. 100% wool, very cabley and very heavy. I wore it a LOT back in the day, when I lived in the Midwest and winters were really cold and actually had snow. Now I live in the MidSouth, where winters get cold, but it's a relative thing and there's rarely snow, so I haven't actually worn this sweater in years. I did give it a good wash this week, though, and am interested in hearing some opinions...I can't bring myself to give the sweater away because I'm too sentimental. However, I don't know that I'll ever wear it since it's so bulky. Should I reconsider giving it away? Or should I attempt to unravel it and repurpose the yarn? What would you do?

Second, I decided to take a picture of my sock yarn stash yesterday. It's not a great picture since I had to take it indoors with the flash, but here it is, in all its glory:
There's enough for 20 pairs of regular socks, 1 pair of worsted weight socks and 1 pair of knee-highs. I must look at this picture anytime I'm tempted to go online and order more sock yarn. If you'd like to know what anything is specifically, feel free to ask in the comments.

Green

Here's a little green for your Tuesday. We've been enjoying all the things we planted. Thought I'd share a little progress pic now that it's had a little time to grow.
Even though our holiday weekend was very quiet, I did manage to start something new with some Socks That Rock (Beryl) that's been in my stash, waiting for just the right time.